Document Type
Article
Abstract
We examine how "top management team (TMT) misfit," or discrepancies between the TMT's functional roles and the qualifications of the managers who fill those roles, affects the evolution of TMT composition and structure in a longitudinal study of entrepreneurial ventures. We distinguish two types of misfit--overqualification and underqualification-- and study how each is associated with TMT changes. We further consider the moderating effect of firm development. Results reveal that underqualified TMTs hire new managers to reinforce existing capabilities whereas overqualified TMTs elaborate their role structures. However, achieving developmental milestones (i.e., obtaining venture capital funding and staging an initial public offering) is a critical contingency to TMT change: absent these milestones, firms neither hire new managers nor add roles, even when they seemingly need to do so. These findings contribute to knowledge of how TMTs and new ventures evolve by underscoring the importance of simultaneously attending to TMT composition and structure.
DOI
10.5465/amj.2014.0526
Publication Date
8-1-2016
Recommended Citation
Ferguson, A. J., Cohen, L. E., Burton, M. D., & Beckman, C. M. (2016). Misfit and milestones: Structural elaboration and capability reinforcement in the evolution of entrepreneurial top management teams. Academy of Management Journal, 54, 1430-1450
Original Citation
Ferguson, A. J., Cohen, L. E., Burton, M. D., & Beckman, C. M. (2016). Misfit and milestones: Structural elaboration and capability reinforcement in the evolution of entrepreneurial top management teams. Academy of Management Journal, 54, 1430-1450
Legacy Department
Department of Management
ISSN
0001-4273
Language
eng
